


Loki and the Dawn

by El Juno (ElJuno)



Category: Norse Religion & Lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-24
Updated: 2007-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-25 07:58:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1640162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElJuno/pseuds/El%20Juno
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were giants on the earth in those days, the beginning times. And there were Gods, and that's where all the stories began.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loki and the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> As far as I am aware, there are no myths about the meeting of Loki and Odin. If there are, then consider this my little muddying of the waters, just another attempt to continue that lovely sort of confusion thrown about by almost any attempt to time the myths themselves. Beta by qwerty, with thanks.
> 
> Written for Maat

 

 

There were giants on the earth in those days, as another frame of reference half a world away would later put it, and in those days, the earth, new-formed from Ymir, was theirs.

And one of those giants was known as Laufey, a giantess of some name. And she had a son, and she gave to this son the name 'Loki'. And one day, Laufey's Son was there, in the dawn, and he strode out. And in those days, he was lone. Left his mother without so much as a fare-the-well, not so much as a token to remember her but her name, and took to find the newfound world and see what could be made of it.

In those days, Loki was young. Very young, even in the youth of the age, and in those days he was not yet the Sly-One, merely the son of Laufey, merely another minor figure among many, and then he had little to offer.

He had been on his own for something more than a month, something less than a year when, one day, while walking alone on a plain, he saw a road. And by the side of that road, he saw a rock.

And then, as he came closer to it, on the rock, Loki saw a man. And at first he was certain that the man was quite old, and in the next moment he was as certain that the man was quite young, but it was hard to tell either way, as he was enveloped in a large cloak, as his face was obscured from sight by a fold and a hat.

Now, you and I may well be able to guess who this was, and we would likely be correct. But in those days, those early days, so early that the face which slowly considered him still had two glittering eyes in it, Loki had no reason to be as familiar with the name of Odin as he would later become. All he knew was that there was a man by the side of the road, there, and that as he approached the man held his staff out for a moment, barring the way, slightly but certainly, without saying a word. And Loki considered him, for a moment, and decided that that was a fine cloak, and part of Loki, cold there on the plain, decided that he could do quite well with a cloak like that.

Loki stood for a second, then asked, 'Do you plan to tell me to stop, then?'

'You already stopped' The man pointed out. 'Why tell you to stop?'

'I had always imagined that that would be the way of it.' Loki said. 'I come across someone, and that someone, namely you, tells me to stop or I imagine that you will hit me with that stick there.'

The main held the staff slightly closer to him than he had before, and then he said, 'I had not planned to tell you to stop.'

'All right, then.' Loki paused, then continued, 'But, seeing as I have stopped...'

'You've stopped of your own will, and you can continue under your own will,' the man said.

'And if I plan not to?' Loki asked.

The man just stared at him.

'And why are you sitting alone here, in the middle of nowhere on this rock? I might ask if you were waiting for something.'

'You may ask,' the man said, 'But I will not answer.'

'Perhaps I've seen it,' Loki said. 'The thing that you're waiting for, I mean. Or the person, I suppose. I mean, I've been far around, gone far and wide, and I have definitely seen more than a man on a rock could have.'

'I doubt that you have seen what I'm awaiting' The man said.

'I might have done.'

'What I'm waiting for can't be seen.' The man said.

And Loki said, 'Answers, knowledge, or secrets, then?'

The man stopped for a second, and then said, 'What if it's none of them?'

'It must be one,' Loki said. 'It must be one of those three, because the only other thing that one might be awaiting that can't be seen is the wind, and we have quite enough of that up here.'

The man didn't say a word. And then Loki looked, slow and steady from the corner of his eye at the man beside him and said, 'I know a secret for you, then.'

The old man looked at him for a moment.

'I know something which you should know.' Loki continued, smoothing his voice with all of his willpower. 'Something which is very important.'

'Tell me, then.' The man said.

Loki shook his head. 'You think things are that easy? Never. You have to earn what I must tell you.'

'And why', the man asked, 'Should I believe that you have anything important at all to tell me?'

'You have a reason to be sitting out here, all alone, correct?' Loki asked, and before the man could answer he continued 'You were told that an answer would come along here, weren't you?'

That, then, that single shot in the dark, that worked. The cloak fell slightly away from the man's face and he asked, 'How do you know?'

Because it's utterly obvious, Loki thought, but he said, 'Perhaps that's part of what you need to learn from me. How I knew that.'

'And how would I be expected to go about earning what you would tell me?'

'It's cold.' Loki said. 'And I shall expect you to give me a show of respect and trust. Loan me your cloak, and I will tell you what I know. I'll even turn my back, so I can't see your preciously hidden face.'

And the man started for a second.

Loki continued, 'It's not even as though it's that much. Give me your cloak, if only for a second, and I will tell you what you need to know.'

The man still looked leery. Loki cast about in his mind for a second and then threw out, 'I have three secrets for you. And this is all you need do.'

And the man paused for a moment, and then said, 'Turn your back'.

It was good that Loki did. It hid his grin when he felt the weight of the cloak descending on his shoulders.

A warm cloak, a good cloak; Loki pulled it around his body, and closed his eyes for a second.

'Now tell me.' The man said.

'Tell you what? Oh, yes, the first secret.'

Loki couldn't see the man, but he could feel his presence, close at his shoulder.

'Well, here's your first secret, then.' Loki said, raising the hood of the cloak, with an odd new grin playing around his lips. 'Never trust anyone as much as you just have.' And then another moment and 'Especially me'

And then, like the wind, he was off.

Never before had he known he could run that fast, even when he had been chased in the past. It was as if his feet were forgetting that they needed to hit the ground, and he just went. Like a bird, like the wind itself. He ran.

He ran until he ran out of land below his feet, to a tall white cliff over the sea. And there he made a fire, and he sat beside it. For a short time he warmed his hands, then, finding some roots, he wrapped them in leaves and set them to cook in the ashes. Curled himself into a ball within his stolen cloak, and went to sleep.

He was nowhere near as surprised as he likely should have been when he awoke after sundown to see that, sitting there, across the fire from him, was the man.

His face was oddly underlit by the fire, and, once again, Loki found it rather difficult to tell who, exactly, he was looking at, or what exactly he looked like.

While he was considering, there, the man said 'I know that you're awake.' And then 'I imagine you think that you're very clever.'

What was the use of it? Loki stretched out for a moment, then sat up and looked across the fire. 'I suppose I am.' There was little pride in his voice, merely a statement of fact.

'I should flay the flesh from your bones for that little trick.' The man said, coolly.

'It was scarcely a trick.' Loki said. 'What did I do? I told you to give me your cloak, and you gave me it. And I traded you back, fairly. I did what I said I would, did I not?'

'You did.' The man said. It sounded surprisingly ungrudging. 'But you promised me three and have only given me one. You also promised that you would only have my cloak for a second.'

'I never promised that.' Loki said and then 'It's a magic cloak, isn't it? I run well, but I do not run as well as I ran to get here.'

'You owe me two secrets.' The man said. 'And a cloak.'

'I owe you two secrets, but no cloak.'

'Two and the cloak.'

'I shall give you a secret, and then the cloak. Then we will work out matters for the third.'

The fire arose for the first time, and for the first time Loki got a good, long look at the man's face. Younger than he had expected, but older as well. And grimmer, but faintly smiling. 'That would scarcely be making good use of the knowledge you've already given me.' He said. 'What was it? "Never trust anyone as much as you just have..."'

'"Especially me". Yes, that was it.' There was no shame in Loki's voice. And why should there have been? It was as much the truth then as it had been earlier.

'I should probably kill you for all of this.' The man said, again, still faintly grinning.

'Yes, but you won't. Not yet, at least. You still need the last two secrets out of me.'

'At this rate, all your secrets have bought me is a lost cloak and a run across the plains after you.'

'Who told you to be out there waiting for me?' Loki asked.

'I was not awaiting you.' The man said.

'Of course you were. Who told you to do that?'

'Is this another trade?'

Loki stood and shrugged off the cloak, placed it beside him. 'There, my show of faith. Who told you?'

'A witch.'

'A witch?'

'A prophetess, a witch, a woman who knows things. She said I needed to be here.'

'Why?'

'Why are you asking?'

Loki sat forwards, tried to catch the man's eyes. 'Because if I am meant to tell you the answers to what you're seeking, I might as well at least know what questions I am answering, and why. And why you are so looking.'

'Perhaps I just want to know an answer.'

'An answer or a secret.'

'An answer.'

'That wasn't a question.' Loki said, and then, slowly, 'So, it was a witch?'

'A prophetess.'

'A witch.'

'An ogress, if you must know.' The man said.

'Why trust her?' Loki asked.

'That is none of your concern.'

Loki said. 'Fine. Do you want your second answer, now? Look into the flames.' Loki picked up a branch and stirred the ashes, then looked at the man. 'You do it, too.'

The man started to stir the ashes with his staff, and Loki put his branch aside. 'There, that's fine, then. What's your name.

'Odin'. The man said. Loki sucked his breath in through his teeth, but continued as cheerily as possible.

'That's not a name that's unknown to me, and I have a very good secret for you, then.' And Loki slipped closer to the fire. 'An amazing one, in fact.'

And then he kicked the ashes as hard as he could, in Odin's direction, and snatched up the cloak with his hand. And in a shout he said 'Never believe witches! And never ever believe ogresses.' Before he began running again.

This time, as he ran, he could hear a beat start up in his head, calling him stupid and reminding him of fights that should not be picked. And here was a big one, a fight with one of the Aesir, in fact. And he knew he could not outrun him, magic cloak or no.

He kept to the edge of the cliff for as long as he could, running and running, running until the sun began to show itself again in the east, dawn once more. Then he turned south, cutting straight across the snows, until the snows came to an end and he reached the woods. Through the woods, avoiding the trees, to the mountains, until the breath came hard in his lungs and, eventually, he did not choose to stop as much as his legs stopped carrying him and he hit the ground.

He wondered why he was even surprised when he looked up to see the man...to see Odin, once more. And then he groaned and rolled onto his back.

Odin prodded him with his staff. 'Get up, then, you're not done.'

'Can I have a moment?' Loki asked, and then the world went momentarily black.

Waking up, who even knew how much later. The sun was still in the sky, though, and Odin's cloak was around his shoulders once more. And Loki stood.

'Is this where you make up some nonsense and try to convince me that it's your third secret?' Odin asked.

Loki shrugged. 'Is it worth it, now?'

'Well, I would expect you to finish the job you have started' Odin said.

And Loki responded 'Be that as it may, I don't plan to make up anything else. For now.' A pause and then 'But I do have something to tell you.'

'Another lie.'

'Sometimes lies are more true than the truth.' Loki said, 'And sometimes answers come in forms you would never expect.'

And then Loki grinned, wide. 'You were waiting for answers.' He said. 'And here I am, an answer.'

'Is that your "secret", then?'

'It's no secret at all, just the truth.' Loki said. 'You are Odin, and I am Loki Laufey's Son, and at the moment, I am your answer.'

'I was not expecting something as...'

Loki cut him off 'Are answers ever what you expect?'

'You are a giant'. Odin said.

'And you are of the Aesir, what of it?'

'If you are my answer, you are a dangerous one, is all I mean.'

There was only one response...one answer...for that. 'Aren't all answers dangerous?'

'You're a lying answer.' Odin said. 'Are you now going to try to convince me that all answers are lies?'

'Not all answers are lies. But I am a lie.'

'So your last secret is a lie.'

'My last secret is my last secret. But my third secret, for you, is myself. And I am a lie.'

'Your first secret was that you were untrustworthy...'

'No, my first secret was not to trust. There is a difference.'

'Your second secret was that you were unbelievable...'

'No, my second secret was not to believe. There is a difference.'

'And your third secret...'

'Is that I am a lie, but you need me.'

'And why do I need you, then?'

'How should I know, yet? But you do.'

'What makes you so certain of that?'

And Loki spread his arms out, widely, 'Why were you there at that moment, and why was I? Fate?'

Odin's face darkened, a cloud over the sun on an already cloudy day 'What do you know of fate, then?'

'Absolutely nothing.' Loki said. 'But I suspect it's a lie, and so am I.'

An odd look crossed Odin's face, a slight brightening, but, 'Fate is not a lie.'

'Fine, it is not. But I am.' And a quirk to Loki's lips and 'And I suspect it _can be_ , as well.'

'I can't hold for that. I need to know...'

'You will know that things are lies. And what better to have on your side than a lie?'

'Why are you so insistant on this?'

Well, that was the question, wasn't it? And Loki, to be honest, didn't have much of an idea himself, except for the fact that, no matter what else you could say of the last day, it had certainly been more interesting than anything else and...

There was a slight sparkle in the water behind Odin, and suddenly Loki knew what he had to say.

'Because you need me. I am a lie and I am also your fate.' Loki said.

'I don't believe either of those.' Odin said, slowly.

'Of course you don't. I'm a lie.' And then 'And perhaps we are fated together, even if I am not your fate. You were told to be there for a reason, perhaps.'

'Perhaps...'

'Perhaps that reason was me.' And then Loki grinned and 'And if there was another reason, you have missed it by now.'

'So...'

'So I am your only reason, right now.'

'A reason who stole from me, ran from me, lied to me and now backtalks to me?'

'Of course. And a reason who is a lie, but at least an honest lie.'

And that was it, then. Odin laughed. 'An honest lie.'

'An honest lie. A lie and a liar, but right now, I'm telling the truth.'

'Fine then, lie.' Odin said. 'Lie and reason and fate, and whatever else you choose to call yourself at the moment. That will be enough for me, for now.'

'You could still kill me.' It was light, though. At the moment, Loki knew, oddly, that there was no harm. 

Later, who knew. But then, it could never possibly be known what things would lead to. We know, of course, you and I. We know how things ended, and we know that Loki was, indeed, as untrustworthy as he claimed, and that, indeed, witches and ogresses are never to be trusted, that in the end it is all about tears, and know well that Loki told the full truth, even as he lied, father of lies that he is. But back then, it was different, and the stories were only written in places they could not yet be read. There in the dawn of the world, when everything still seemed clean. 

 


End file.
